Meratus Mountains

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Meratus Mountains
Pegunungani Meratus di Bajuin.jpg
Highest point
Elevation 1,892 m (6,207 ft)
Coordinates 2°47′00″S115°29′00″E / 2.78333°S 115.48333°E / -2.78333; 115.48333
Geography
Borneo Locator Topography.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Meratus Mountains
Location on Borneo
Location South Kalimantan, Borneo

The Meratus Mountains is a mountain range in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan; it is located on Borneo island. The mountains run in a north-south arc that divides South Kalimantan province into two almost equal parts. Its highest peak is Mount Besar at 1,901 metres elevation. [1]

Contents

The mountains are inhabited by the "semi-nomadic" Meratus Dayak people.

Flora and fauna

The mountains are surrounded at lower elevations by heavily disturbed lowland rain forest and lands converted to agriculture. The higher elevations are home to submontane and montane forests, which are separated from the main mass of Borneo's montane rain forests in the centre and north of the island by approximately 300 km of lowland forest. The submontane and montane forests cover an area of approximately 2,460 km2. [1] Endemic plants include Gaultheria kalimantanensis (Ericaceae) and the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes boschiana .

The mountains' relative isolation from Borneo's other highlands has allowed for the evolution of several endemic species, including the birds Meratus blue flycatcher (Cyornis kadayangensis) and Meratus white-eye (Zosterops meratusensis). [1] The area has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. [2]

Conservation

In the 1990s the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation reintroduced 350 orangutans into the protected Meratus and Sungai Wain forests. Due to extensive deforestation the ecosystem of the mountains, including many flora and fauna species are endangered. Traditional Dayak villages are also disappearing. [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Kalimantan</span> Province in Indonesia

South Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is the second most populous province on the island of Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of the island of Borneo after West Kalimantan. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it was legally moved 35 kms southeast to Banjarbaru. The population of South Kalimantan was recorded at just over 3.625 million people at the 2010 Census, and at 4.07 million at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 4,221,929. One of the five Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, it is bordered by the Makassar Strait in the east, Central Kalimantan in the west and north, the Java Sea in the south, and East Kalimantan in the northeast. The province also includes the island of Pulau Laut, located off the eastern coast of Kalimantan, as well as other smaller offshore islands. The province is divided into 11 regencies and 2 cities. South Kalimantan is the traditional homeland of the Banjar people, although some parts of East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan are also included in this criterion. Nevertheless, South Kalimantan, especially the former capital city Banjarmasin has always been the cultural capital of Banjarese culture. Many Banjarese have migrated to other parts of Indonesia, as well as neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, other ethnic groups also inhabit the province, such as several groups of the Dayaks, who mostly live in the interior part of the province, as well as the Javanese, who mostly migrated from Java due to the Transmigration program which dated from the Dutch colonial era. It is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has a larger population than Mongolia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meratus blue flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The Meratus blue flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. The species was described in 2021 by the Indonesian ornithologist Mohammed Irham and his colleagues, based on genetic, morphological, and vocal differences with other Cyornis flycatchers. It is endemic to the Meratus Mountains of Indonesian Borneo, where it has been recorded only from Mount Besar. It is most common at elevations between 900 and 1,300 m and inhabits montane rainforest, secondary forest, and rubber plantations. It is sexually dimorphic like other species in its genus; males have blue upperparts, iridescent blue patches on the forehead and shoulders, and orange-and-white underparts, while females have gray-brown heads and upperparts. They have a length of 15.7–16.0 cm (6.2–6.3 in); males weigh 18.5–19.75 g (0.653–0.697 oz) and females weigh 15.75–20.0 g (0.556–0.705 oz).

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The Meratus white-eye is a species of bird in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. The species was described in 2021 by the Indonesian ornithologist Mohammed Irham and his colleagues based on genetic, morphological, and vocal differences from other Zosterops white-eyes. It is endemic to the Meratus Mountains of Indonesian Borneo, where it has been observed on Mount Besar and Mount Karokangen. It inhabits the mid and lower storeys of closed-canopy montane forests at elevations between 1,300 and 1,650 m. It is a typical Zosterops white-eye, with deep olive-green upperparts, yellower underparts, a yellow stripe across the lores, and a distinctive bicoloured bill. Adults have a length of around 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) and a mass of 8.5–9.5 g (0.30–0.34 oz). Both sexes look alike.

North Putussibau is a district (kecamatan) located in Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Irham, Mohammad, Haryoko, Tri, Shakya, Subir B., Mitchell, Simon L., Burner, Ryan C., Bocos, Carlos, Eaton, James A., Rheindt, Frank E., Suparno, Suparno, Sheldon, Frederick H., Prawiradilaga, Dewi M. Description of two new bird species from the Meratus Mountains of southeast Borneo, Indonesia. Journal of Ornithology, 21937192, Apr 2022, Vol. 163, Issue 2
  2. "Meratus Hulu". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  3. Borneo Orang Utan Help Project (German)